McLaren's Lewis Hamilton led the Hungarian Grand Prix from start
to finish yesterday to stretch his championship lead on unhappy
teammate Fernando Alonso to seven points.
The 22-year-old British rookie put behind him a pole position
controversy and spy saga gripping McLaren to take his third win and
10th podium finish in 11 races and underscore his credentials as
title favorite.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished second, 0.7 behind, with
Germany's Nick Heidfeld third for BMW Sauber.
Spain's double world champion Alonso, who was stripped of pole
and demoted to sixth place on the starting grid for unnecessarily
impeding Hamilton in the final seconds of Saturday's qualifying,
finished fourth.
Hamilton said his teammate had not spoken to him since
Saturday's controversy.
As punishment for that same incident, but subject to appeal,
leaders McLaren were barred from scoring points towards the
constructors' championship in the race. McLaren remained on 138
points, with Ferrari narrowing the gap on 119 with six races
remaining.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa, third in the Formula One championship
before Sunday's race, failed to score after starting 14th and
slipped to fourth place overall.
Hamilton has 80 points, Alonso 73, Raikkonen 60 and Massa 59 in
a championship that remains very much a four-way battle with an
appeal hearing into the spy controversy also hanging over McLaren's
hopes.
Eventful weekend
"It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the
team," said Hamilton, happy to be back on top after his sensational
run of nine podiums in a row ended at the Nuerburgring two weeks
ago with ninth place.
"With all the drama that has gone on over the weekend, it would
have been easy to lose focus. It's been a bit of a downer for the
team."
The McLaren rookie led all 70 laps of a race that, in contrast
to all the excitement and controversy away from the track in the
build-up, was uneventful and processional until the closing stages
when Raikkonen closed right in on the Briton.
"I had a problem with my steering and it made it quite difficult
to keep the pace," said Hamilton, who soaked his father Anthony in
champagne from the podium.
"I was quite nervous that something was going to break but thank
God it didn't.
"It was probably one of the hardest races I've had to do and
even more satisfying that I had to push that bit extra to keep him
(Raikkonen) behind me."
The Finn, pushing hard on a tight circuit that is a nightmare
for overtaking, slotted into second place at the start and remained
there throughout. He set the fastest lap of the race right at the
end.
"It was a kind of boring race, just driving behind and waiting
for something to happen," said the Finn. "Nothing really happened
so we finished where we started.
"Our car is maybe not exactly suited for this circuit," said
Raikkonen, a winner at the Hungaroring with Mercedes-powered
McLaren in 2005.
Poland's Robert Kubica, marking his first anniversary in Formula
One after making his debut here last year, was fifth for BMW Sauber
with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher sixth.
Germany's Nico Rosberg was seventh for Williams with Renault's
Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen taking the last point for the
struggling champions.
(China Daily via Agencies August 6, 2007)